Sports Business

An electric figure at the top of an NFL team is a magnet for Browns president Alex Scheiner

Browns president Alec Scheiner has experienced two of the most unique NFL front-office structures during his 10-year career in the league.
As we recently outlined, the Browns' “cumbersome” structure under the since-fired Joe Banner was a one-of-a-kind approach.
Prior to his arrival in Cleveland, however, Scheiner spent eight years in another rare setup — the do-it-all approach of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
“I had a great meeting with Jerry once,” Scheiner said. “I said, 'Jerry, you know I want to be a president of an NFL team.' He looked at me and said, 'That's my job here. But you can do that job.' He said, 'I have no doubt you can do that job.' Then it was just a matter of when.”
For Scheiner, “when” was December 2012, when he was brought in by Banner and Jimmy Haslam as the Browns' president.
Scheiner said he knows Jones wanted him to remain in Dallas, but the owner who doubles (triples?) as the Cowboys' president and general manager “also knew what my aspirations were.”
When I met with Scheiner earlier this month, I asked him to compare Jones and Haslam.
The latter, to his credit, isn't attempting to run the Browns' personnel department, but there are some similarities between the owners. (One major — and obvious — difference is Jones doesn't have a huge legal situation hanging over his head.)
“I think having a dynamic owner is very important,” Scheiner said. “Dynamic owners — fans and media sometimes tend to think of owners as, 'Thanks for buying the team, but stay out of the way,' but I don't look at it like that at all. We get all of our resources from our owner, our relationships from our owner. If you think of what makes Jerry Jones great — Jerry will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday — it's because he lives and breathes the NFL.”
Two traits Scheiner repeatedly referenced in describing Haslam are two characteristics Browns fans often used as negatives when discussing Randy Lerner — “dynamic” and “engaged.”
Lerner was criticized for not being around enough, and for his understated nature.
The latter is something that has never been used in reference to Haslam.
“I've been very fortunate,” Scheiner said. “I wouldn't have come here if it wasn't for my faith in Jimmy. I think Jerry is a great owner, and I really liked working for Jerry. There aren't many better organizations than the Dallas Cowboys. I think we can become just as good. Anyway, I think the owners play really important roles in the NFL. You almost are at a disadvantage if the owner isn't very involved.”
Many armchair quarterbacks — myself included — believe Jones is too involved.
An owner shouldn't be drafting players and making all of the decisions on free agents.
But Jones has proven to be a very astute businessman, and he's very influential in NFL circles.
Scheiner said he ran into his former boss during Super Bowl week in New York, and Jones “could not have been nicer to me.”
“I owe him so much to be in this position,” Scheiner said. “I have a great feeling about Jerry Jones. I really do. And he treated me so well. He was fair to me. It's not like he misled me about what role he wanted in the organization.”
A few more tidbits from Scheiner on Jones and Haslam:

On Haslam delegating responsibilities: “At some level, you could say there are some roles that are better left to some people. You could argue that. But it is, in my opinion, very important that your owner is physical and engaged. Where I think Jimmy is really good is he's very engaged, but he allows people to do their jobs. He asks the right questions. I don't do the jobs of the people working for me, but hopefully once in a while I ask the right questions and I'm here. That's how Jimmy is.”

On Jones' multiple job titles: “Jerry is the general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, as well as the president. So he has my job and (Browns general manager) Ray Farmer's job. So that is different. Jimmy is used to a model where he has these people performing these roles and he asks questions, but he doesn't do those roles.”

On the owners, away from business: “They're both really caring people. I've been really lucky to work for both of them. Jerry was always very generous to his staff, and he just always treated me very well. Jimmy's the same way. Jimmy always asks me about my family, and Jerry was that way. They care. It's fun.”
We'll have more from Scheiner on Friday, including his thoughts on the complicated process of changing the Browns' uniforms.

Sports commission is staying up to speed

The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission seems to have hit another home run.
The commission late Tuesday afternoon announced that it is launching NEOCycle, an urban cycling festival that will be held at Edgewater Park on Sept. 27 and 28.
There will be unique rides, competitive races and a two-day festival featuring live music, vendors, exhibits and activities. More importantly: The event is expected to bring 2,000 riders to the Cleveland Metroparks' Lakefront Reservation and create $200,000 in economic activity.
NEOCycle will consist of five races in the event's first year, the sports commission said. Registration, which begins April 1, will cost between $25 and $35 for each event, and there will be discounts for riders who compete in multiple events.
One of the events will feature a high-speed race around a Cleveland Velodrome track. Another will consist of a Saturday night ride through downtown Cleveland.
The most intriguing event might be the “Criterium,” which is described as a road race through University Circle.
Start training now. Or be like me and just look forward to the two-day festival.

You can follow me on Twitter for sports information and analysis, but I won't be recapping my strict training regimen for NEOCycle.